American Classics
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[Photograph: Alexandra Penfold]

Chocolate covered ice cream is a treat that takes me straight back to my childhood and the dipped cones we used to get at our local soft serve joint. It didn't feel like summer had truly arrived until I had my first dipped cone. As an adult, I recognize that the dipped cones weren't particularly high quality chocolate, or the ice cream for that matter, but there was something special about crunchy chocolate coating + ice cream that equaled pure summertime magic and fortunately it's actually fairly simple to recapture at home. And by making your own you can use your favorite top quality chocolate with your very favorite ice cream. Think of the possibilities:Horchata! Ginger Green Tea! Coffee Cardamom! It's a win-win.

Irony of ironies, this dessert is probably easier to prepare in the winter. If you have an unairconditioned kitchen like I do, you will need to work in batches making the mini scoops and coating them with chocolate so the ice cream doesn't stay out of the freezer for too long.

About the author: Alexandra Penfold is mild-mannered literary agent by day, food ninja by night. Never one to skip dessert she's the Brownie half of Blondie & Brownie, a Midtown Lunch contributor, and co-author of New York à la Cart: Recipes and Stories from the Big Apple's Best Food Trucks. You can follow her on Twitter at @blondiebrownie.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About This Recipe

Yield: Serves 8
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 2 hours
Special equipment: melon baller, parchment paper, large baking sheet

Ingredients

  • 1 pint vanilla ice cream (or your favorite flavor)
  • 12 ounces best quality dark chocolate, melted in the microwave or double boiler
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil

Procedures

  1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a melon baller to make mini scoops of ice cream adding them to the parchment lined tray. Freeze scoops until firm, about 2 hours.

  2. In a medium bowl whisk together melted chocolate and coconut oil until thoroughly combined. Let cool slightly.

  3. Prepare a second baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove ice cream from freezer. Working quickly, use a spoon to place ice cream scoops in the chocolate and roll it around until coated. Carefully remove the bon bon with a fork and place it on the second baking sheet. If at any point your ice cream scoops start to get overly melty, return them to the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to allow them to firm up. Store in freezer until immediately before serving.